CONTACT:

Meg Biallas Henry, director of Communications

202.491.8025

meg.henry@cpjustice.org

(April 29th, 2020) – Sacred Sector, an initiative of the Center for Public Justice, is a learning community for faith-based organizations and emerging leaders within the faith-based nonprofit sector to integrate and fully embody their sacred missions in every area of organizational life. In late February, Sacred Sector partnered with the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC), an association representing over 40,000 Hispanic ministries nationwide, to launch a Sacred Sector Community in California. Sacred Sector also partnered with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (Texas Baptists), representing over 1,000 Hispanic ministries in Texas, as well as the San Antonio Baptist Association, representing over 500 ministries, to launch a Sacred Sector Community in Texas. Sacred Sector Community specifically empowers congregations and ministries to proactively address the challenging legal and cultural environments in which they have a sacred calling to serve.

“What really touched my heart was the faith-walk that was obvious [from Sacred Sector]. From a ministry perspective, nothing is as powerful and impactful as the faith walk testimony of those who help us,” said Dr. Gus Reyes, COO of NHCLC.

Sacred Sector Community participants are equipped to advance their religious freedom and faith-based missions through six Toolboxes, which have been revised and updated with relevant content for 2020. These Toolboxes provide in-depth knowledge on key issue areas related to faith-based nonprofit life: Religious Staffing, Nondiscrimination Laws, Government Partnerships, Advocacy and Lobbying, Family Supportive Workplaces, and Positive Engagement in the Public Square. The Toolboxes provide a framework for faith-based organizations to strengthen their understanding of the public policies that impact their freedom to operate and serve, the organizational best practices that holistically embody their faith-based values, and public positioning that connects their impact with their religious identity and freedom.. Through a partnership with the Urban Church Leadership Center, all six Toolboxes and the accompanying materials have been translated into Spanish so that Hispanic ministries now have the option of reading these resources in English or Spanish.

In-person learning sessions were held in February in both Texas and California, with over 30 total congregations and ministries represented. Cohorts were introduced to the six key areas covered in the Toolboxes to help participants identify and set goals for an area of organizational growth. During the opening sessions, participants filled out an organizational assessment to determine their current level of knowledge in the six key areas addressed in the Toolboxes. Sacred Sector used the assessments, group discussion and evaluations during the opening sessions to tailor the subsequent presentations to the specific needs and baseline knowledge of the 2020 cohort. One faith-based organizational leader stated: “In terms of best practices, Hispanic faith-based organizations don’t always have the documentation and records they should. Thank you for being with us on this journey. We are hearing a lot of good comments about how our ministries feel empowered that their religious freedom is protected, but they have to live it out.”

Through both research and relationships building over several years, Sacred Sector understands that Hispanic congregations have a powerful capacity to serve their communities and develop the social and spiritual capital of their members. However, due to changing cultural and legal environments, many do not feel emboldened to advance their faith-based missions in the public square. As one faith-based Hispanic leader shared, “Hispanic churches’ members come from Latin American countries in which government corruption and state-sponsored injustice are normal practices rather than exceptions to the rule. As a result, they have not inherited a comprehensive theology of public life and are predisposed to fear, and refrain from community engagement altogether.” Through initial engagement and partnerships with Sacred Sector, Hispanic congregational communities are better equipped to understand and engage their social and public policy environments. One pastor at a Hispanic church plant shared that because of Sacred Sector’s training, he felt emboldened to reach out and build relationships with city council members and to better connect the church.

Each ministry in Sacred Sector’s 2020 Community will have an opportunity to develop an implementation plan, specific to their ministry’s needs, to work toward adopting new practices in one specific area. For example, some organizations may choose to update their employee and volunteer policies to better reflect their faith-based identities. Through a combination of in-person and online gatherings, written resources and one-on-one coaching, each organization will be equipped to exercise its faith identity and further its mission, thereby strengthening its overall impact.

Several leaders of faith-based organizations shared how they hope to benefit from the curriculum and apply it to their current ministry contexts:

“The biggest takeaway for my ministry was the need to state and stick to written policies in our organization.”

“I found the [in-person] learning session to cover interesting topics that our church needs to address. Keep up the good work!”

“The biggest takeaway for me was how [my organization] can think about family and government partnerships for our kids ministry.”

“[I realized] the importance of public policy: understanding how nondiscrimination laws and protections might affect our [organization]. Thankful for your faithful witness in delivering this content.”

“We desire to see the Hispanic faith-based sector integrate and fully embody their sacred missions in every area of organizational life,” said Sacred Sector Director Chelsea Langston Bombino. “I am excited to see how each participating organization, building on what they already know, will be able to advance their sacred missions through this unique community and curriculum.”

Participants in Sacred Sector Community 2020 will also have direct access to tools from Standards for Excellence®, a national initiative that promotes ethical practices and accountability in the nonprofit sector. The Center for Public Justice, through Sacred Sector, is a replication partner of the Standards for Excellence® program.

Sacred Sector is made possible through the support of a grant from Templeton Religion Trust. To learn more about Sacred Sector, visit SacredSector.org.

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Sacred Sector is an initiative of the Center for Public Justice, and is a learning community for faith-based organizations and emerging leaders within the faith-based nonprofit sector that seek to integrate and fully embody their sacred missions in every area of organizational life.

The Center for Public Justice is an independent, nonpartisan organization devoted to policy research and civic education. Working outside the familiar categories of right and left, conservative and liberal, we seek to help citizens and public officeholders respond to God’s call to do justice.